A very British jihad

In April 2003, the Stevens Report provided the first official acknowledgement of collusion between loyalist armed groups and British security forces in the murders of nationalists in Northern Ireland.Yet, as this book demonstrates, such collusion and associated conspiracies have been a central feature of the British response to the conflict in Ireland for more than thirty years. That response, argues Paul Larkin, amounts to a Holy War, or Jihad, in the name of Protestantism and the British monarchy. That war has been swathed in secrecy and denial, protected by notions of 'national security' that pervade every corner of the legal system and the political establishment - a very British Jihad. Award winning investigative journalist Paul Larkin made the first of many films for Spotlight - BBC Northern Ireland's current affairs programme - in February 1989. It was about the murder of Pat Finucane. Since then Larkin has covered other controversial killings, RUC cover-ups, the burgeoning illicit drugs trade, the role of informers and agents, and the notorious Portadown based Ratpack'. He went on to produce a special investigation into the Dublin/Monaghan bombings for RTE. The research for these films was the raw material for this book. Building on his earlier investigations, Larkin presents a detailed and revealing account of many aspects of Britain's 'dirty war'. He provides a unique insight into the dangers and political pressures facing journalists who dare to investigate the unsavoury relationships between the intelligence agencies, politicians, the police, the British Army and loyalism.